Engine list

[240_4_lyfe]

hey guys.. i'm doing a swap in my 240 and my buddy gave me this list of possible swaps.. can u guyz tell me if the descriptions are right and which engine you would go with ?

KA24 E (North American 200SX/240SX/Stanza)

Pro's:- Lots of torque at low RPM.- Strong internals up to 350 hp on stock internals

Con's: - doesn't like to be reved- low ho very senstive to climate change

CA18 ET (North American 200SX Turbo 1986-1987)

Pro's:- High reving- good torque- 2 spark plugs per cinlinder- uses a manually regulated fuel pressure- Turbo can be swapped out with the 84/85 300 ZX T28 turbo)

Con's:- Weak bottom end- only up to 250 hp- stock turbo heats up fast and T2 Turbo no good past 12 psi of boost will look like a cherry- uses a cast steel crank- Pron to seizing pilot bearing

VG30 E (North American 300ZX/200SX SE/Pathfinder/Maxima)

Pro's:- strong bottom end- 400+ hp- OHC on each bank- will easly uphold to Twin T30 turbo's- Pretty small will fit into most anything

Con's:- Weak oil pump- Hard cold starts- Prone to bending rocker arms since they are none adjustable- motor is heavy- no low end torgue

VG30 ET (north american 300ZX turbo only)

Pros:- 210 rwhp- T30 Turbo- no turbo lag because of thge 2 exaust manifolds to 1 turbo set up

Cons:- weak oil pumps- Turbo over cross makes it hard to install in smaller 200SX and 240 SX

JAPAN MOTORS !!

CA18DET (Japan only 200SX turbo/ Stanza Turbo)

Pros:- Strong motor DOHC- 2 plugs per cylinder- 2 coils- Driver adjustable timing on intake cam

Cons:- Jump timming marks often and require to be tuned all the time to run properly

SR20DET (Japan only Silvia K's)

Pros:- Strong motor- 400+ hp internals- uses a manually controled fuel pressure- stock T28 Turbo produces up to 17 psi of boost with intercooler- Really light

Cons:- no cons, one of the best motors nissan ever made

RB20DET (Japan only GT, GTS 2wd R32/ fair lady Z)

Pros:- smoth ball bearing turbo- inline 6- good power

Cons:- Heavy as hell

VQ30DETT (japan only fair lady Z)

Pros:- loads of power and torque- Twin T28 Turbos- Strong top end and bottom end

Cons:- Very big, weights alot

RB26DET (Japan only R33-R34)

Pros:-steel crank-steel block head-steel cams-steel exuast manifold-rock solid motor

Cons:-Very heavy almost 700 lbs-To long to put int any 200SX, 240SX without major work

[574-240sx]

Some of those motors are not worth swaping in. Some are incredably expensive. Some will take some persuasion to get in. The most common are turboing the existing power plant. Seeing you have a KA24DE. The most common swap for you would be the SR. You can also turbo the KA24DE. You might want to research the separate engine forums first. Also the RB swaps are become more popular. There is also the CA18DET too.

[Toddles82]

the KA does not come in North American 200SX's....Those have a GA16 (POS engine) and the FWD SR (very fun NA)

[IveBeenBad]

your friend is stupid. he claims the rb26 is too long when it shares a block with the rb20...

[Drifterxl]

now i may have heard incorrectly, but i do believe there is an rb30dett as well.

[bcar240]

Here is some info someone posted a while ago. It is pretty good, but I forgot who said it.---------------

KA24DE - Durable stock motor with surprising amounts of torque (good for launches) Due in part to it's relatively high displacement (2.4L) and derivation from a truck engine. NOTE: Derivation! The KA in the S13-S14 is not the same as the KA in the Frontier!

KA24DE-T - Stock KA motor with a turbo system. A huge improvement over the stock trim, maintaining good torque and great powerband for drag racing.

SR20DET - Stock JDM turbo motor, 2.0L. The engine USDM owners felt cheated out of. He he. Silvia cars were designed for this engine, so minimal chassis mods will be required for the swap. Excellent powerband for autocross and drifiting. Huge (and still growing) aftermarket support base.

CA18DET - Predecessor to the SR. Also an excellent engine. 1.8L, high revving. Slightly less powerful, but an affordable and easy swap that can quite easily run with the SR with modifications. Good for autocross.

RB20DET - The 2.0L engine from the ever-vaunted Skyline. Durable 6-cyl motor with more power than any of the above in stock trim. Will fit with relatively minor modifications, and is pretty affordable. Excellent all-around motor.

RB25DET - The 2.5L straight six from later model Skylines. It has a ton of power on tap stock. Bulletproof bottom end able to hold more boost than you'll ever REALLY need. Moderate modifications needed to make it fit, though entirely possible.

RB26DETT - A bored RB25 with a twin-turbo layout. Massive power... probably one of the most popular engines Nissan EVER built. Incredibly durable, will fit with modifications both to the chassis and engine. Will require a RB25 transmission, as the 26 AWD setup will not work with the S13 chassis.-----------

It really depends on what you want to do. Pretty much anything other than these will require lots of custom fabrication and lots of time & $$$. RBs also will require a little modification, but you can buy the exact parts you would need now.

I think the original RB30 was an austrailian-only engine and it only had 1 cam. But will so many customizations nowadays, I am sure someone has made a hybrid or something.

[240_4_lyfe]

oo i like that list better , see i'm thinkin about either an RB25 or a 26.. but how would it handle with the extra weight in the front..? my buddy said it would lose almost all of it's handling. But i don't trust what says at all very much anymore. He was trying to tell me that an RB25 doesn't exist. So i think i'm just going to stick to asking you guys the questions

[nismofly]

buddies wrong again...*sigh*

there was a thread a few weeks ago, i forget exactly what the results were but as far as weight distribution it was actually i think i bit better, at least equal, to the stock ka, in an s14. now ive got an s13 that id love to put an rb25 in, id assume it would be again just fine.

basically i know for a fact in an s14 and 99% sure in an s13 that weight distribution, and the handling effects derived from it, would be at least as good as stock. and the rb25 was also right around the weight of the ka, a little more but nothing drastic

[240DRFT]

now i may have heard incorrectly, but i do believe there is an rb30dett as well.

its a hybrid motor...part rb26 part something else, i think. http://www.dragdriftautox.com sells them

240_4_lyfe your friend has some of his stuff wrong, but most is ok

[RMiller]

Nah your friend does not know what he's talking about. -200sx came with optional vg30-ca18det has 1 spark plug per cylinder, timing belt does not slip (what is he talking about?) Maybe somebody used an accessory belt for timing.-ca18det is 44 lbs lighter than sr20det-ca18det has 4 coil packs-ca18det does not necessarily have good torque-vg30 does have good torque(what was he thinking?)-ca, sr drop in without ANY modifications, you just cut some wires-rb is pretty easy too, especially with install kits available(not that they're necessary)-I know the rb's have to weigh more than the ka. There's more metal on them and they're made of the same stuff the ka is made of. The rb25 transmission is way bigger also. If the engine hangs over the front axle more than tha ka then it will affect weight distribution. Read through the forums here. Please don't post things like that if you are not sure of the info. People will read that post and accept it as fact without reading the subsequent posts correcting it. It's not so much the content as it is the format, though.

[nismofly]

ok found the thread i was thinking of, and it was in an s13 hatch, not an s14, so i retract that part. but anyway with the rb and tein he's in there, plus driver and half a tank of gas, weight distribution was 54.4 front 46.6 rear, not that much more in the front than the accepted stock numbers, and he didnt weigh the car with the ka, so its hard to tell just how much of a change

http://www.nicoclub.com/zerothread?id=45754

[IveBeenBad]

buddies wrong again...*sigh*

there was a thread a few weeks ago, i forget exactly what the results were but as far as weight distribution it was actually i think i bit better, at least equal, to the stock ka, in an s14. now ive got an s13 that id love to put an rb25 in, id assume it would be again just fine.

basically i know for a fact in an s14 and 99% sure in an s13 that weight distribution, and the handling effects derived from it, would be at least as good as stock. and the rb25 was also right around the weight of the ka, a little more but nothing drastic

The RB weighs in at roughly 700 lbs whereas the KA is roughly 450. 250lbs is quite a bit of weight to be adding/shifting in a car.

[nismofly]

check out the thread link i just posted, its not nearly as bad as expected

[InsanityInc]

The RB is definitely heavier. It's not so much the motor itself (though that plays into it a small amount), it's the two turbos and all the piping. The weight difference would be smaller between an RB and a turbo KA.

[nismofly]

wait i thought you were talking about the 25, not the 26. the 25 is single turbo and whatnot, so is it the 25 or the 26 that weighs 250 lbs more that the ka?

the 26 is a monster undertaking, its incredibly difficult, and the twin turbos are even harder to retain. if people do swap it they go with a single big turbo almost every time...chris riggs' s14 is the only 240 running the twins in the states, as far as i know.

[bcar240]

I have been doing some calculations on the weight distribution change with an RB. I found that by simply relocating the battery to the trunk you can get about 55/45, which is not as good as a stock 240, but not too bad either. A CF hood and other measures can help out even more.

[nismofly]

accepted for stock 240 is still 53/47 right? thats what ive heard and i havent heard anything different yet...

[bcar240]

53/47 is what I used in my calculations for a stock 240, that is all I have heard as well for an S13. The 55/45 is for a modified RB25 which weights about 250lbs more in the front. An interesting thing I found was that relocating the battery is the same (well, not really ) as taking ~80lbs off the front because not only do you lose weight in the front you add some in the back. (I know, I know, the weight is still there, just in a different place. )